Vol. 429 No. 4
47 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the number of people who left the land in each of the past three years; the estimated number who will leave in 1993; and whether he has any proposals to reverse or halt this trend.
The Central Statistics Office conduct an annual Labour Force Survey which relies on a representative sample of the labour force to provide details of their occupation. These surveys show that employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing stood at 167,000 in 1990, at 154,000 in 1991 and at 150,000 in 1992. The Central Bank in its Quarterly Bulletin for Spring 1993 estimated that employment in this area would decline by another 2,000 in 1993. Although these are not the precise figures asked for by the Deputy they do show a continuing downward trend in agricultural employment. It should be noted that this is part of a worldwide trend in developed economies in recent decades and is related to improved farming technology and greater efficiency in agriculture generally. Indeed the rate of decline in the agricultural population in Ireland in the last decade was considerably less than in the seventies.
What is more important than the actual numbers employed in agriculture is the number of jobs in rural areas. The existence of a vibrant rural community is possible only if there are enough opportunities for work and enterprise for those living there. This does not always have to be in the traditional agricultural activities. Within the operational programme for rural development operated by my Department there are a number of schemes designed to encourage farm diversification including agri-tourism and horticulture while other schemes, like the Leader programme, are designed to help groups in rural communities take advantage of business opportunities.
In addition to these measures the Programme for Government emphasises our intention to implement a development programme for the food industry. This will be drawn up following the report of the expert group on the food industry which I expect to receive shortly.
This development programme, together with the operational programme for rural development, will help to improve the employment position in the food industry and in rural areas. It would be my aim to ensure that the numbers thus employed are at least maintained and increased by the addition of worthwhile sustainable jobs created with the help of the measures I have referred to.
